Mizuki turned off the stove. He'd said it just loud enough for Exusiai to hear, and she froze for a moment before quietly preparing to leave the kitchen doorway.
Skadi tilted her head slightly, puffing out her cheeks in displeasure. She remained silent, though for some reason, it seemed as if some emotion was building inside her.
"Then do you want to explain what's going on with that girlfriend of yours named Muelsyse?"
"!?"
The halo above Exusiai's head flared bright. Her gaze immediately turned serious and dark, and she charged straight into the kitchen, not caring that Skadi was there.
"You found another woman?"
Grabbing Mizuki by the arm, Exusiai fixed him with a razor-sharp glare. She was already furious. If Mizuki couldn't give her an explanation, tonight they were... sleeping in separate rooms!
"What are you talking about?"
Skadi couldn't help rolling her eyes at Exusiai.
"You're the one he got together with later."
"Huh?"
Chapter 54: The Sultry Snake Has Arrived~
"It feels like a lot happened today."
It was late at night. Since Skadi and Mizuki had reunited, and there were also things everyone needed to share with one another, Kal'tsit and Ch'en had simply stayed for dinner.
But when Ch'en saw the dishes on the table, several huge question marks popped into her head.
For example: Is this stuff edible? Penguin Logistics actually eats this? Is Penguin Logistics' collective, intermittent insanity caused by eating this stuff?
However, Kal'tsit, a doctor who had lived long enough to gain extensive experience, could tell these dishes were extraordinary. Though they all looked like the kind of food that could make anyone lose their appetite, the ingredients had somehow retained all their natural vitality and nutrients.
"You eat this stuff regularly?"
"Yeah. It looks a little weird, but it tastes great."
After spending several days together, the girls of Penguin Logistics had completely gotten used to Mizuki's bizarre-looking cooking. It really did taste good, and after eating it for a while, they felt healthier. Even Sora's weight-loss efforts were paying off.
"Here, Officer Ch'en, have a piece of ribs."
"..."
The rib in her bowl was so dark purple it was almost black, and under the light, it even took on an eerie blue sheen. Ch'en almost imagined that it was still alive.
But when she looked around, she saw that, aside from the girls of Penguin Logistics, Laurentina didn't seem to mind how the food looked at all. She ate with perfect elegance.
And Skadi? She'd practically become an emotionless eating machine. She just kept stuffing her face, as if she wanted to eat the plates and chopsticks along with the food.
Even Kal'tsit seemed to be enjoying herself. Ch'en suddenly felt as if she was the only abnormal one at the table. Could this stuff really be eaten?
"What's wrong, Officer Ch'en? Not to your taste?"
"...I might need some time to get used to it."
Ch'en wasn't sure what to say. Kal'tsit gave her a slight nod, assuring her that the food wasn't poisoned and was safe to eat.
With so many people happily eating, and Mizuki looking at her expectantly, Ch'en couldn't very well refuse to touch her food. Pressing her lips together, she opened her mouth and took a bite of the rib.
It was as if she heard a "crackle." Ch'en tasted life exploding in her mouth. It was only a piece of fried rib, but its flavor was beyond words.
It wasn't greasy, nor did it have the strange texture she'd expected. If anything, it was delicious—so delicious that Ch'en couldn't help reaching for another piece.
As for Mizuki? Honestly, aside from both being Aegir, the only things that made him and Skadi look like siblings were probably their clothes' color schemes and their appetites. But compared to Skadi's ravenous eating, Mizuki was much more refined.
"By the way, Mizuki has a girlfriend named Muelsyse?"
Eating in silence was boring, so Croissant started the conversation. Everyone had heard the commotion from the kitchen earlier, but since Mizuki had lost his memory, they couldn't exactly blame him for it.
Besides, from what they'd seen so far, Mizuki was completely sincere toward Exusiai. He didn't seem like a womanizer.
"I don't approve!"
"Me neither!"
Exusiai and Skadi, who had been at each other's throats earlier, were now remarkably united. Skadi especially had no doubt that Muelsyse was a formidable rival. That girlfriend energy of hers was downright terrifying.
"But I don't remember anything about her."
Mizuki's tentacles slipped out from under his hat and helped him take it off, then scratched his head. But to everyone except Kal'tsit, it looked like the hat had floated up on its own. Kal'tsit could see those tentacles only thanks to the other monster inside her.
"Of course you don't. You don't even remember me, your older sister. How could you remember that woman?"
Looking at Skadi's proud expression, Kal'tsit still decided not to mention that Mizuki seemed to remember the Doctor quite well. Muelsyse, though? That name sounded familiar.
"Muelsyse, the head of Rhine Lab Ecological Section. I met her at Rhodes Island."
"That Rhine Lab from Columbia?"
At the mention of Columbia, a lingering darkness clouded the eyes of the girls from Penguin Logistics. They wanted nothing more than to strangle those people. If Skadi knew what people from Columbia had done to her younger brother, she wouldn't be sitting here eating so calmly.
Yet beneath that, there was also a vague sense of gratitude. Meeting Mizuki had been something worth celebrating. He'd brought Penguin Logistics a lot of happiness and changed the girls' lives in many ways.
"Yeah. She probably doesn't have much to do with what happened to Mizuki. She might be looking for him too, right, Skadi?"
"...More or less."
Skadi confirmed Kal'tsit's guess but couldn't be bothered to say anything more. She turned her displeasure into an appetite. When Mizuki picked up a piece of multicolored braised pork and tried to feed it to Exusiai, Skadi rudely opened her mouth and bit down on it, stealing the food from her.
Exusiai was so angry her teeth hurt. She nearly snapped her chopsticks in half. Watching them, Mizuki couldn't help biting down on his own chopsticks. He figured he'd have to spend a lot more time comforting Exusiai from now on.
"But even if Mizuki doesn't remember her, she must still love him, right? If she finds out he's lost his memory and... she might be really upset."
Sora had watched plenty of dramas and was a sentimental girl. Thinking of that possibility, she couldn't help feeling a little sad. Mizuki seemed caught in the middle, unable to do anything right. It was awful that he'd lost his memory.
"Let her be. I'm not letting go."
Exusiai scooted her chair a little closer to Mizuki. She'd already given herself to him, and she truly loved him. There was no way she'd let him go!
Laurentina, meanwhile, was a little mentally unstable, but her ability to think was still more or less intact. After briefly understanding Mizuki's situation, she gently bit her finger.
"Why get hung up on something like that? Wouldn't it be better if our master had more partners?"
The whole table fell silent. The only sound was Mizuki quietly eating. Noticing that everyone was acting strangely, he looked up and finally realized what Laurentina had just said.
But before Exusiai and Skadi could react, someone knocked on the door of Penguin Logistics. The two girls could only shoot Mizuki a look.
Sensing that something seemed terribly wrong, Mizuki hopped off his stool with a rib in his mouth and went to answer the door, wondering if someone had come to hire Penguin Logistics to deliver something.
But when he opened the door, there was only one person standing outside: Ho'olheyak, who had finally made her way to Lungmen.
"Um, are you here to hire us for a job?"
Mizuki asked with the rib still in his mouth. Ho'olheyak didn't answer right away. She merely stroked her chin and watched him with amused interest.
"Hmm... I wanted to ask if you offer matchmaking services. I think you're right up my alley."
"Huh?"
Hearing the question, Mizuki made the same sound Exusiai had at the end of the previous chapter. He soon realized something was wrong. To keep Exusiai and Skadi from hearing this and tearing the house apart too, he hurriedly shook his head.
"We're a logistics company, and I already have a girlfriend."
"What does that matter? Having a girlfriend doesn't stop you from getting another wife. Don't worry, I'm not here to break up this family. I'm here to join it."
Ho'olheyak licked her lips. Of course, she was just teasing Mizuki, but she really did sense an unprecedented, surging vitality in him. As someone who would only live for forty or fifty years, she longed for that life force.
"Please... come in?"
Mizuki had meant to tell her to leave, but Ho'olheyak took out a letter bearing the Penguin Logistics logo.
"See? I told you I was here to join this family."
Ho'olheyak's eyes curved as she smiled happily. Mizuki simply felt that this might be a day he'd never forget for the rest of his life. After all, from today onward, his life was probably going to get just a little less peaceful.
Chapter 55: Ho'olheyak's Little Schemes
"Someone recommended by the boss..."
Texas held a chocolate stick between her teeth as she looked at Ho'olheyak. No matter how she looked at her, she didn't seem like a good person. Ho'olheyak's smile was too alluring; she looked more like a vixen.
"It's definitely the boss's seal, but what's with this recommendation?"
Sora looked over Emperor's letter of recommendation. It only had a few lines on it.
[This woman is joining Penguin Logistics as a temp starting today. Don't go easy on her—beat her up!]
"Make her join Penguin Logistics, then tell us to beat her up?"
Since she hadn't heard the conversation between Mizuki and Ho'olheyak at the door, Exusiai was baffled by the letter. If she'd known what they'd said to each other, there was no way she'd wait for Emperor to tell her to beat Ho'olheyak up. She'd probably join Skadi and kill Ho'olheyak on the spot.
"Looks like there are some things the boss finds hard to say."
Croissant took it in stride. She had no doubt the letter was genuine. The handwriting aside, that really was the sort of thing Emperor would say.
And other than them and Mizuki, whose circumstances were unusual, it was hard to imagine anyone choosing to join Penguin Logistics. Had they been so happy with their lives that they needed to seek out some excitement?
"But two new people in less than a week is a surprise. Hmm, a Columbian?"
When they saw that line on Ho'olheyak's profile, all the girls except Ch'en and Kal'tsit looked at her with complicated expressions.
Joining Penguin Logistics at this point, coming from Columbia, and being introduced by Emperor—it wasn't hard to guess why Ho'olheyak had come. Exusiai immediately stepped in front of her boyfriend to protect him, completely overlooking the fact that Mizuki seemed more capable in a fight than she was.
"Don't be so tense. I mean no harm. My superior arranged it this way, and I'm just an employee. It's not like I have much say in the matter."
Ho'olheyak hadn't planned on pretending to be some harmless passerby. Tin Man had told her that the best way to fit in with Penguin Logistics was to be herself and be honest. There was no harm in bringing up Mizuki's situation, either. The military was mostly to blame, and the Melnade Foundation shouldn't make Mizuki hate them.
While eating, Kal'tsit studied Ho'olheyak. She knew the woman's background: a member of Columbia's Feathered Serpent Clan, and a pitiable soul. She'd been implanted with a huge number of memories from birth, which meant she was destined to die young. It had also twisted her personality somewhat. In Kal'tsit's experience with them over the years, the Feathered Serpent Clan had only two main goals.
First, restore the clan's former power. Their ancestors had once been able to stir up the world and summon storms at will.
Second, because their lives were short, they needed to marry and have children as early as possible to ensure the clan's survival. Their standard for a mate was someone with enough vitality to father as many children as possible.
So... whether or not Ho'olheyak had come for Mizuki, she might already have other plans for him.
"Since she has a letter of recommendation from the boss, there shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"I texted Eis. He said this woman does count as someone the boss recommended. Her identity is connected to some faction in Columbia."
Croissant confirmed Ho'olheyak's identity. The girls weren't nearly as welcoming to her as they'd been to Mizuki. After all, Mizuki was so cute, capable in all sorts of ways, and had gotten mixed up with Penguin Logistics because of a case.
As for Ho'olheyak? They weren't ordinary people. She gave them only one impression: dangerous.
Mizuki also thought she seemed dangerous. Of course, not dangerous to his personal safety. In fact, he hadn't yet sensed anyone who could threaten his life. He just had a feeling that his life might not be so easy after Ho'olheyak showed up.
"Did you come here because of me?"
"Yes."
Ho'olheyak behaved very obediently, because she'd realized something: she probably couldn't beat Skadi or Laurentina. When Skadi and Laurentina looked at her with cold or kindly expressions, she felt as if Death itself were reaching out to her.
"I work for Columbia's Melnade Foundation. I joined Penguin Logistics to observe Mizuki—or E001—up close."
"E001?"
Exusiai instinctively shielded Mizuki. When she heard that Ho'olheyak had come for her boyfriend, she suddenly felt like whipping out her gun and unloading a whole magazine into her.
"That was his codename in the Columbian military."
Ho'olheyak obediently pinned all the blame on the Columbian military. Though the Melnade Foundation had also been involved, it hadn't played a major role in anything too awful. They had far more reservations than the military.
"Fifteen days ago, an expedition team made up of adventurers and scientists headed to the northern part of the Snowfield. They wanted to explore territory no one had ever reached before. But after returning from the expedition, they all became deranged and incoherent."
"According to the doctors, they'd suffered a mental shock that caused irreparable damage."
As she spoke, Ho'olheyak couldn't help glancing at Mizuki. She figured the expedition team probably hadn't seen him. Otherwise, how could they have been so frightened by someone as harmless-looking as Mizuki?
"The military sent people to investigate the area they'd visited. The Melnade Foundation doesn't know what they found, but it's certain that Mizuki was their biggest and most important discovery. They were desperate to bring him back to Columbia, but the Ursus authorities found out, and the two sides clashed. The Melnade Foundation got involved too."
"So the military was caught between the two sides and eventually decided to have us transport the cargo?"
"That's right."
"But wait. Isn't the Melnade Foundation Columbian too? Why would you oppose the military?"
Ch'en had been listening in, and now she understood why Lungmen had been in chaos a while back. The Ursus authorities and the Columbian military hadn't cared what Wei Yenwu thought, because even Wei Yenwu couldn't take either side to task without solid evidence.
"Put it in terms of your Great Yan: you and your sister fall for the same person. How could there not be conflict?"
It was a surprisingly down-to-earth explanation, but it made sense. Texas shifted her gaze away, feeling a little embarrassed. She didn't dare look at Exusiai.
Ho'olheyak's arrival was unexpected, but she'd honestly stated why she'd come. That at least made Texas and the others relax a little. It would've been a real headache if Ho'olheyak had some other agenda. As things stood, they could only follow Emperor's lead and let her join Penguin Logistics for now.
But keeping an eye on Mizuki was just business. Now that she'd met Mizuki, Ho'olheyak couldn't help entertaining a few other thoughts.
Before you continue